Works

We have scarcely time to tell thee
Of the strange and gifted Shelly,
Kind hearted man but ill-fated,
So youthful, drowned and cremated.

Gent on sidewalk held out his foot
While boy in gutter brushed his boot,
But at this time, how sad, alas,
An unruly horse did o'er him pass.

The child for friends he sad did lack,...

There is a peculiar snake,
You might almost call it squatter,
It loves to dive in pond or lake,
At home on either land or water.

But it excited my good dog
To see small snakes bask in the sun,...

Read at Anniversary.


Our ancient custom to renew,
We meet to honor St. Andrew,
He was of the Jewish nation,
A fisherman by occupation;
No warlike knight with lance and sword...

Lines read at the Welland House, St. Catharines, at a banquet given to the members in attendance at the Oddfellows' Grand Lodge.


St. Catharines famed for mineral waters
And for the beauty of her daughters,...

A sailor he was swept from deck,
In minute he seem'd as a speck,
Tossing on each briny wave,
They feared the sea would be his grave.

Though they full quickly launched the boat,...

Our Canadian county Perth,
Commemorates great bard of earth,
Stratford and Avon both are here,
And they enshrine the name Shakespeare.

For here in Stratford every ward...

At time of Oddfellows Grand Lodge meeting.


Oddfellows once they had to trudge
O'er rough stage road to the Grand Lodge,
But now they town of metal seek
And find it on the Kettle Creek.
...

Now let the hero of our song,
Be he who gentle treats the throng,
And would not cruel treat another,
But to each be as to a brother.

And he must have both sense and wit,...

Having been kindly invited as a member of the Mechanics' Institute some 25 years ago by the late Jeremiah O'Neill, Esq., to meet that gentleman in company with a number of our townsmen, when Mr. McGee was rising from the table ...

Of our Laureate we now do sing,
His youthful muse had daring wing,
He then despised Baronhood,
And sang 'twas noble to be good.
None sang like him of knights of old,
He England's glory did uphold;...

September came and with it frost
The season's pasture it seemed lost,
And the wondrous yield of corn
Of its green beauty it was shorn.

Frost it came like early robber,...

A good kind man who knew no malice,
Happy with wife and daughter Alice,
More precious far to him than gold,
His little darling six years old.

True nobleman with many friends,...

Cheerful and happy was his mood,
He to the poor was kind and good,
And he oft' times did find them food,
Also supplies of coal and wood,
He never spake a word was rude,...

We let Ontario farmers sing
About the joys the woods do bring,
But we in regions of Northwest
Do think prairie farms the best,
For those poor men who swing the axe
On their strength 'tis a heavy tax,...

In early times the pioneer
When a few acres he did clear,
He found 'an ample recompense
For splitting rails and making fence.

Though it was crooked as a snake,
And zigzag style did not awake,...

Worthy of either song or story
Are the shires round frith of Moray,
Here lies the valley of Strathspey,
Famed for its music, lively, gay,
Elgin cathedral's 'prentice aisle
Is glory of that ruined pile....

Do not despise the humble weed,
For the Lord He first sowed the seed,
Perhaps it bears most precious fruit,
And useful leaves and potent root.

Though it seems now a useless weed,...

In vale of Thames oft' times are seen
The cattle graze 'mong sweetest green,
Or there contented with their fate
The gentle cows do ruminate.

And enjoy a double pleasure...

A picture hung in a public hall,
And it was much admired by all,
Painted by a true artist's hand,
The subject it was truly grand.

Its fame o'er the whole world resounds,...